Nissan Frontier: Problems & Solutions

Hello Nissan owners, If you have a S/C Frontier pickup truck and you here a KNOCKING noise from the engine. Your going to be replacing your s/c. I just bought this new 2003 Frontier truck, I have 3000 miles on the on it , and I hear this KNOCKING noise from the engine. It starts to make this desil engine noise from idle to about 1700 rpm. some times its loud and some times its faint to hear. Well I thought it still might be braking in so I drove it for another 1000 miles and still hear it . So I went to my dealer and they said its a KNOWN problem & their going to replace the S/C unit. Boy was I pissed.Has anyone had this problem.They say the rotors are not matched up to each other, and they bined under a load. Have fun with this big $$$$ item. I wish I could get rid of this truck. I'm stuck with it for 5 years.

Some time ago I asked a question about reliability of the supercharger in the S/C pickup. The failure of yours is the first such reported failure in this forum but leaves bad taste in my mouth as it happened after so few miles. I was strongly considering buying this truck but I just changed my mind.

Can somebody tell me why is there not one decent forum about the older Nissan pickup (up to 96 model? There are hundreds of thousands of these trucks on the road. Nobody has any suggestions or experiences to share? This is really disappointing. I have a 4x4 95 SE V6 king cab truck and would be interested in chatting with other owners of similar pickups. There must be 30,000 posts on Honda Accord on this site, but almost nothing on Nissan trucks.

Hello everyone this is CIAMAN bringing you back more tech info. Well I called Eaton the manufacture of the S/C. before the dealer starts ripping the engine apart. We spoke of the problem I was having And they said they NEVER had this problem before. They check every one of their units before sending them out. And their is no such thing as the rotors binding inside , their separate from each other and do not touch each other. The rep. put some confidence in me saying the dealer did not make the right jugdement call without T-Shooting the problem. They think it could be the Anti Knock Sensor Not doing Its job.. So The rep I spoke to Said He was going to get a hold of Nissan In Tennesee and sending some one from there to look at my truck and a rep from Eaton too,and meet me at the dealer. So I am getting good support for this Knocking noise. Eaton wants to find the problem, and clear things up . Eaton stands up to its products. So I have some relief over this and I think things will turn out good. Eaton is going to setup a time to meet and I will get back to all of you when this problem is solved. And I hope its something stupid & simple! Because really do I like the truck.

hello p100 I did not want to discourage any one with my message Its a good truck if they can resolve this Knocking noise, so stay tuned I will be writing more info within two weeks you know how dealers are not to good some times thats why you have to do homework and fix it yourself. Or get smart people involved. see ya

Hello every poor S/C Nissan truck owner. This is CIAMAN. Well to continue my discussion from before , Eaton did not pull through like they said they were on sending a rep out. And Nobody from Nissan Headquarters never responded. So I did not receive any support on my Knocking noise that I STILL HAVE. Even after the dealership replaced the supercharger. I do not know if this is just the nature of the truck to make this knocking noise . The mechanic said he can't hear any noise. I think I'm being blown off. Every body else who rides in the truck hears it. My next step is to go to another dealer and ask to drive a new s/c truck and see if it makes the same noise. If any body needs a squeeze of lemon to go with their ice tea I will bring my truck over. Knock Knock- who's There- Nissan .over & out.

My BRAND NEW 2003 XE (4cyl, auto) dumped ALL it'stranny fluid on the ground last weekend. We werelucky we weren't killed as we were headed onto theinterstate for a snowy, chains required nighttimedrive over 7500' mountain pass (Donner Pass I80CA).

Towed into a dealer, they say 'some clampswhich hold the tubes open were left in at thefactory so the tranny cooler tube detached fromthe radiator. We checked - there's no tranny damage.'

I saw ALL the fluid on the ground (what didn't turn to smoke/burn on contact with the car) I also saw smoke coming out of the back, sides and front of the truck as I pulled over. I also saw the tube detached from the radiator.

I *don't* believe that _any_ tranny (auto especially) can run w/o fluid.

Thoughts on what to do? I believe, minimum, thetranny needs to be replaced - but a replacementtruck isn't out of the question in my mind (only1500 miles on it). Hard to see how this vehicle meets the obligatory warranty of 'merchantability and fitness'.

Should the dealer have checked these clamps/connections before delivery? Seems like it to me.

I drove(?) a FIAT for a couple of years - whichfriends laughed got excellent gas mileage - on theback of the tow truck - feeling like this will bea lemon.

I would not worry about the smoke coming from under the truck, as it was probably caused by transmission oil being sprayed onto hot exhaust pipes.

Loosing transmission oil suddenly can indeed damage your transmission - it depends on how quickly you caught the problem and how quickly the oil was dumped and how long you drove with low oil or no oil in the transmission.

It is sad that dealers do not do better job preparing new vehicles for sale. If they had inspected the truck properly, they would probably have found the problem. I sometimes wonder if they even drive new cars before sale - maybe in the dealer's parking lot. If they properly inspected new vehicles and took them was a test drive and inspected them again prior to sale, problems like you experienced could be avoided. I turned away in disgust when I test drove two brand new Nissan Maxima SE (03 models)and both had vibration in the steering wheel and on one of them the hood bounced up and down like it was made of rubber. So much for pre-delivery inspection. And these were $ 29K sticker cars. I would have bought one of these cars if I was impressed with the test drive.

My advice is - if you can trade the truck in and talk the dealer into selling you a new one for minimum difference, go for it. Trucks generlaly have very good resale value and dealers can sometimes sell slightly used trucks for more than they can sell a new one.

If I understand this failure scenario, the cooling line(s) opened and allowed the transmission to pump itself dry. Is that correct?

Believe it or not, this is actually a better situation than running a auto transmission low for many miles. Since it dumped all the fluid you quickly got to a point where there wasn't enough fluid to operate the transmission. If I guess right, it just suddenly started slipping and you quickly realized that something was wrong and you came to a stop.

I would bet that there was probably no damage. In most transmission designs there is always some fluid left in the clutch cavities if pressure is lost. Intermittent slipping for a period of time is more damaging.

Let them repair it and refill the transmission. Drive it hard for a while, then decide whether to explore going further.

I hope everything works is okay. That's a shame on a new truck. At the very least I hope they clean up the underbody for you.

Packed up the truck bed and cab with stuff and the family. Had bed load covered with a tarp and a bungie net (prepared for a 250 mi drive over Donner Pass in CA (7400 ft)). Also had chains on board, as chain controls were required on highway (I-80 Reno NV -> Oakland CA).

Just filled up the gas tank and was making the turn to the highway ramp and noticed smoke coming from the rear of the truck. Assumed I had gotten a bungie too close to the exhaust and so pulled over immediately (after the stoplight turned green).

After pulling over there was smoke coming from the rear, sides and the hood. Popped the hood and saw a ton of fluid on the ground - turned off the engine. Now parked in the breakdown lane of the on-ramp (lucky it happened at this place, lucky to have a breakdown lane on the ramp, lucky it didn't happen in the snowy mountains, lucky to be alive). AAA sent a tow truck VERY QUICKLY and got us out of there.

It wasn't too difficult to find the loose hose in the engine compartment. Red fluid on the ground probably meant tranny fluid.

This truck has always shifted hard - but I have seen many complaints about the Nissan automatic so I assumed it was normal.

Can't say how long it had been leaking, but I did pull over very quickly after it started smoking.

Spoke to the selling dealer - he said a few interesting things: 1) when they do warranty work they do the maximum, as it maximizes their billing and profit. 2) As they didn't repair the car he can't talk to the tech to find out if there's any question on the tranny.3) I should call Nissan and ask for a tranny replacement or an extended warranty on the drivetrain (100k miles). He says they prefer the extended warranty in these cases. [I have called Nissan cust svc and await their reply.] 4) Checking hoses and clamps is NOT partof pre-delivery inspection - they just check fluids and safety equipment (this from dealership manager.).

If Nissan does give the extended warranty and I have no more problems with this truck - I'll live with it. Else I have a prepaid legal plan which I will be using. [I have to believe this incident will reduce the resale price of the truck, aside from the risk to life and limb.]

I'll note this was 4PM on Sunday and Reno Nissan was open - but helpless (hopeless). On Monday I had the truck sent to Carson City Jeep/Nissan (35 miles further away), as Reno Nissan was STILLhopeless when their service dep't opened. Carson City Nissan was awesome - they sent a flatbed, and gave me priority service. Honestly, I chose the Nissan-only store first over the Jeep/Nissan store, but boy was I wrong.

Before this incident I had nothing but good things to say about the truck. It was a good value, not a speed demon (4cyl w/ auto) but sufficient for around town, and usable for driving up mountains as long as one uses momentum to advantage. Now the jury is out.

Once I have resolution on the tranny replacement/ext warranty question I'll be writing a letter to Nissan documenting thewhole affair. I have NEVER experienced such a major failureon an automobile regardless of age, make or country of origin.This incident was at 1507 (one thousand five hundred seven) miles.I would have happily brought the truck in for a 1000 mile service/oil-change but none is required and my hometown dealer confirmedthey don't want to see it until 3500 (3750?) miles.

Truck is still sitting at repairing dealer as I'm 250 miles away, waiting for Nissan's answer, and need to carve out the time for the500 mile round trip.

Hello Everyone CIAMAN is back with a quiet knock free truck. I brought back my nissan to the dealer because the knock was driving me crazy. And I told them I do not want the truck back until the problem is fixed or your going to be buying it back and was firm with them so, the dealer took the truck from me & kept it for a weeks worth of trouble shooting.I also told them to give me a rental car for the down time and they did.The dealer found a simple cheep part that failed, they call it a vacuum tank and valve assy. part number 14958-5S625. It took an hours worth of labor and it fixed the knocking noise diapered and never returned again. I was a very happy person. The dealer said they made a mistake in replacing the supercharger that was not the problem. Now I have to look at my tranny lines for missing clamps from what I just read on another truck owners problem. Over&Out

If you want to start a discussion of older Nissan trucks, please e-mail and let me know and I'll open one up for you IF...your interest is mainly tech problems. If you want a general discussion with other owners, you might be better off starting a new topic in our Pickups Board, which you can find by using the drop down window to the left of this page where it says "Browse by Message Board".

I read the horror story of srl99 regarding his transmission. I have a new (about a month old) 2003 Nissan Frontier, 4 cyl. auto/trans, with just over 1000 miles. I was driving to my destination yesterday (12/5) and the transmission would not up shift into a higher gear. If I took my foot of the accelerator and then re applied the gas it felt like I was in neutral and I had to pull over to let cars go by. I would then start up again with the same steps occurring about 4 times before I made it to my location (still 80 miles from home). I phoned the dealer/service dept and the tech tells me I have to get the truck to him and he suggested I drive it to the dealer...RIGHT! After some choice discussion the dealer agreed to have it towed to their location. Five minutes later the tow service calls but says they can't tow the truck until Sunday 12/7/03. No offer of a loaner car. I have my wife pick me up and now have a difficult situation with a daily commute to work without my brand new truck.srl99: Can you let me know how you made out with your problem? I did not see any tranny fluid but I am not the most mechanical person in the world either but know what the fluid looks like. If you would like to email me directly my email is rgfb@capital.net

I own a 2001 Nissan Frontier V6 4x4 manual shift.Four-wheel drive used maybe 15 days in winter. Rest of year I engage four-wheel drive 5 times in rain to keep hubs lubicated. This year I engaged it in first snow. Above 30 MPH roaring, grinding noise in free-running hubs and/or front differential. Had hubs greased for $160 at dealer. Still roars and grinds.My prior 1998 Nissan 4x4 four-wheel drive cut out alltogether in its third year (did not work at all). I am drawing the conclusion it is bad engineering and am quite frankly disgusted with it. Just when you needed in snow it does't work. This is the last Nissan Pickup I bouught. Anyone please comment with Nisssan Pickup four-wheel drive experience. Good or Bad.

Well now I know why the Frontier was (a LITTLE) cheaper - Nissan doesn't stand behind it. I previously documented the (auto) tranny fluid dump at 1507 miles. The repairing dealer was kind enough to give me one of the "wedges" left in the oil line at the factory which caused the cooler line to come off the radiator. [Looks like the links you'd remove from a metal watch band to make it smaller.]

All the fluid was pumped out of the tranny - smoke was everywhere - we were stuck at the side of an onramp on a snowing winter day about to climb a mountain pass with chains on.

I'm starting to shop for a new truck to repalce my '98 ford ranger 4WD extended cab which has 133,000 miles. Other than the damper door, tensioner,and windshield washer motor it is a good truck. I'm interested in the Frontier non S/C, but I'm not too impressed with the gas mileage of the 3.3 liter. An earlier post recommended a diesel which would be a nice option and/or different gearing for the highway. This board is very helpful, keep up the good work.

I purchased my 2003 frontier in october w/ 44 miles on it. I broke in the engine properly and even use the 4wd. I had no problems till 5,000 miles. I had to use the 4WD in some heavy snow on the east coast. Upon stopping short during my drive the brakes clutterred, clanged and grinded to a halt. They brakes work fine if i come to a normal stop, but if i have to apply any extra pressure to the brake pedal it feels and sounds like the front end of the truck is gonna crumble. The dealer cant fit me in for 2 weeks...off to a great start nissan usa

I read in awe about some of the problems encountered. I bought a 2000 Frontier 4x4 V-6 new in January of 2000. Except for a small oil leak from the rear main seal, I have had no problems of any kind. The leak was so small that not a drop ever hit the ground. The dealer discovered it during routine service. Now almost 70,000 miles later the truck is as good or rather better than new. The four wheel drive works well, and the gas mileage is acceptable at an average of 20 to 21 mpg. I occasionally tow a 5,000lbs cattle trailer with it.

One word of caution though: Tires! My truck used 255x65x16 tires. When the original tires wore out, I replaced them with Michelin Cross Terrain tires. These tires will not work with most of the Nissan vehicles. They vibrate and handle poorly. Michelin replaced them with LTX tires and that solved the problem.

I have a '02 CC, LB 3.3 V6 w/o the S/C. I bought it with 12 miles and it now has 17000 in 18 months. I just want to get some feedback from anyone with similiar problems or knowledge as I'm going to attempt the Lemon Law on it (Again!!). My first attempt I complained of an annoying knock on cold starts and a brake vibration. Both not considered "severe" enough to make it a lemon. (In who's eyes?)

The knock and vibration is given Nissan's standard reply of it's "normal." Yet the dealer mechanic did compression tests on it and found it "out-of-spec", removed the heads and had to clean casting debris that shouldn't have been there...still is there as well as the knock. Then told it was normal.

The vibration went from brakes to shocks to seperation of welds on front bumper mounts back to the ABS controller. Now normal as well. The vibration is caused when the ABS actuates and does a self test!!!! Well for as many self tests it does (atleast three-to-five daily), it shouldn't lock up when it's needed most, which it has.

The real problem, just before my hearing, the brakes actually began to drag, wouldn't release. this accured at just 4000 miles. A different dealer had to adjust some sensor after the dealer I purchased it from finally had enough of my complaints and said it's not their problem, talk with Nissan USA (Yea right!!!). It continued and had to have the master cyl, rotors, pads, calipers replaced from the damage and still didn't know what caused it and still the brakes don't work right. (see above) They've begun to get worse and I won't even drive the thing in the rain anymore. (Which sucks since I live in FL)

I'm at my wits end with Nissan Service and this truck. It sucks because I really like it aside from the problems. (I waited just so I could get the long bed cc). Now I wish I would have bought a Toyota!!! Anyone with a suggestion for my case or having similiar problems, Please let me know!!!

I own a 1991 Nissan Hardbody I purchased brand new that has now had its tranny rebuilt for the second time. It is a 4-cyl, auto trans, std cab. I have 187,000 miles on it. The first rebuild happened in 1997 with 79,000 miles. As you can see, the average miles between failures is around 80-90K. This has been a good truck - except for the predicted tranny rebuilds. The cost has been the same for both tranny rebuilds: $1800 each. YEOUCH! My opinion is that if I had to do it again, I probably would do it again or get a Toy. By the way, my driving is about 70% highway (interstate) and I am not a hot rod driver.

For you with a Nissan PU: you made a good choice. Just be prepared to lay out a couple of grand for a tranny at some point in its life. (Still cheaper to keep her than pay 30 grand for a new truck and $1500 a year in insurance). I hope this comforts y'all somewhat. Could be worse: it could be a Dodge Ram auto tranny that has an expected MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) of about 50K miles. Hemi power and tranny weak.

I am original owner of a 2002 Nissan FrontierSC CrewCab 4WD LongBed. Imagine the sound you would hear if : You took a metal coffee can ;placed a single marble in it and while holding the can in you hand , you made a slight rotatingmotion to get the marble to spin around the can'swall at about the 1/2 way mark. THIS is the sound I hear from my engine compartment when :driving @ 2000-2500 rpm and pushing the gas pedal(sound disappears immediately when you let off the gas while in the rpm range described. In other words , sound heard only UNDER Acelerationin the 2000-2500 rpm range. Occurs more often than not , but not always.And occurs more frequently in cold weather. Any ideas ?George in Bristol,CT

My truck is a 95 SE V6 4X4 king cab with a 5 speed manual. It has about 80k miles. The original transmission and clutch are in great shape - no problems so far. I prefer manual transmissions to automatics, one reason being lower costs and greater longevity. I expect my transmission to outlive the rest of the truck.

It appears that most of the automatic transmission problems are with the 4cyl models. If you check the towing ratings between a 4 cyl automatic and a 6 cyl automatic, there is quite a difference. I am sure this is not just because of the engine power. Any ideas?

I just bought my new 03 SE CrewCab 4x2 during theChristmas. After driving her about 200 miles, I encounter the engine stall problem. Every time, I make a stop at traffic light or stop sign, the idle speed needle drop below 0.5 (500/rpm) and then go back to normal (about 0.7). If I make a hard stop, the engine is also stop. I would everyone opinion before I bring the truck to Nissan dealer this coming weekend.

If you are still hearing rolling marbles in your coffee can, ask your service department to check the EVAP system and read NTB 020-20. I was having a similar problem that was fixed when they finally installed the hose and valve that comes in the kit for NTB 020-20. The problem is finding a service technician who can understand the system. The first service department I took mine to wouldn't even look up the NTB, saying they could not hear the noise. I had to drive to a larger dealership about 50 miles away.

When I purchase the truck I told the salesman I wanted to tow it behind an RV with all 4 wheels on the ground. He said shifting the transfer case in Neutral should work. After reading the manual it tells you to never leave it in Neutral. (Why put a Neutral in then). I have found though the Transfer case doesn't lock in Neutral so one would have to put a locking brase on it to keep it in place while towing.

My question is has anyone out there towed this vehicle (The manual says to never tow with the wheels on the ground). And if so let me know the problems you had if any.

The truck has been great since I have owned it I have the Long Bed and it provides everything I want in a truck. This is the 3rd Nissan Truck I have owned and I'm expecting the same outstanding service from it that I received from my other two. They were a 1967 and a 1995. Both very good trucks.

I have been a long time Nissan owner. This is my third truck and the first time I have had ANY problem with warranty issues.

The paint on the lower portion of ALL 4 doors has an "orange peel" finish. The dealer gives me a pat answer "they are all that way, because Nissan paints that portion of the door heavier" (for protection against chipping). My comment was that heavier paint does not equate to "orange peel". He blew me off and said call 1-800-NISSAN1. I looked at other vehicles at my dealership and saw the problem, but there was no consistency. About that time I took a trip and looked at vehicles at dealerships in other states and again "hit or miss".

I called Nissan North America and although the rep. was friendly enough, I could tell he didn't understand the problem. I have a "problem number", but nothing was happening. I wrote a letter and was finally contacted again.